Praise for Falkirk, but Livi decision leaves fans in the cold

Can you identify this Falkirk player, receiving an honour from his army unit, and also the distinguished individual standing to the right?

Published:09:09Friday 22 March 2013

The Benchman has warmed to Falkirk’s approach to their managerial hunt... though got the cold shoulder from Saturday’s late call-off.

MANAGING TO GET IT RIGHT: Good to see the club going about their business in a professional way with a thorough recruitment process. It makes a change from recent forays into the appointment process. The lessons need to be learned- fail to prepare and you can prepare to fail. Track record, experience, man management, communication skills, resilience, style, financial awareness and a working knowledge of the game in Scotland. Makes a change from “When can you start?”

MYSTERY PIC: Who is the Falkirk player receiving an honour at his army unit and who is that to his right with the sword over his right shoulder?

THINK OF A NUMBER: This league construction “debate” is becoming a bit of a farce. Rangers are threatening to revolt. There is rumoured dissent in the ranks of the SPL. Messrs. Doncaster, Longmuir and Regan are vying with each other for the title of Headless Chicken of the Year. Scotland – 5.2 million people. Three Football Organisations. Three highly-paid Chief Executives. Crowds dwindling. Clubs going bust. Leagues boring. Listen to the fans guys.

WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG?: A great exhibition is being staged at the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow entitled “More Than A Game”. It shows how Scots shaped the game of football all across the world. The great teams in Argentina, Brazil and Spain were all influenced by Scots. We gave the game to the world, but they certainly left us behind once they developed it.

LAST WEEK: The last Middlesbrough player to score over 20 goals in the top flight of English Football was the late Alex. McCrae. A feat which hasn’t been overtaken, despite the lavish signings like Ravanelli and Juninho. The mystery pic was a Scotland line-up from the 1950s. Back row left to right- Ian McColl, Bobby Evans, Tommy Younger, Alex Parker, Eric Caldow. Front row Left to right- Graham Leggat, Bobby Collins, Jackie Mudie, Tommy Docherty, Sammy Baird, Tommy Ring.

TEASER: Who was the scorer of Third Lanark’s last ever goal in League football and who was their last boss?

SNOW JOKE: Come on guys. A pitch inspection at 1 p.m.? Buses were leaving- some had already left.The folk in Livingston knew it was going to be called off. Why couldn’t the SFL have arranged an earlier inspection? We have advanced weather reports. Cars coming into Falkirk from up the Braes were covered in snow all morning. It’s not fair on travelling supporters.

YOU BET: Allegedly a well-known Bairns fan asked his local bookie for the odds on a double if he could name the new Pope and the new Falkirk Manager. Both names he chose started with the letter “J” Watch this space.